Rat at rat R

http://mysticalbeast.blogspot.com/2004/04/art-art-art-for-next-few-fridays-my.html

More RARR discussion towards the end of this thread:

Live Skull Appreciation Thread (pre-Thalia admirer)

of course, branca's cousin was in the band -- i love glenn branca's music and he clearly gives some of the best interviews around -- that famous FE one is entertaining from start to finish. not sure he actually believe the d boon quip himself, but anything that helps one feel that d's death was anything other than a senseless awful tragedy could be helpful, no matter how deluded. but then again, the cia never killed anybody...

For anyone not reading the links, RARR had two lps and a longish 3 song single (and an early tape that I'll probably never find) and a single on a compilation, and maybe an odd or end that I don't know about. First album has SY-style windchime guitars, but much more muscular rhythm section as well as very Branca vocals. Not the slightest bit pop (no EVOL) but the noise hooks are there for the finding.

Didn't like the EP for quite some time, but it eventually clicked, esp. the track Beautiful People. Long songs, maybe more for open-minded metal fans or something?

Last album continues the EP's path to some sort of prog/noise hybrid that hasn't been pursued nearly enough. Some doesn't work, but some of it (and especially one long track "Larry Facedown") is essential.

The compilation track "The Way" is pretty great as well, and fairly concise...

The band (aside from a m.i.a. lead singer) is apparently still in contact and has toyed with the idea of reforming. I'd love to at least see the 1st album come out (remastered) on CD.

The Fugazi comparison doesn't mean much to me.

now, about Of Cabbages and Kings...

years later i sold my copy on ebay to moe! staino and he liked my description so much that he sent me a cool single that he had put out with melt banana on it. thanks moe!

looks like the drummer is on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/suicidepoetry

Of Cabbages And Kings - an incredible, awe-inspiring live band that could not get their sound on tape, kinda like Nice Strong Arm. OCAK were so heavy it was mythic.

I did buy an ironic W.A.S.P. t-shirt in the 80's. Sorta. It was a beautiful tye-die and I had to have it. But I was not really a W.A.S.P. fan. I was a Metallica fan by that point.

did you position the posters so that michael gira and madonna were looking meaningfully into each other's eyes?

My bad, the guy taking down Iron Maiden posters to put up Live Skull pictures WAS ME.

Briefly dated = Gira + Ciccone in Danceteria bathroom?

Ah, I loved my Nice Strong Arm records and would've killed to see them play - was always reading about how much better they were live. Was thinking about them the other day actually, while I was listening to 'In The Flat Field'!

Had one OC&K record and never really listened to it much. Got taken down the dump a long time ago with a box full of Ritual Tension & Bar-B-Q-Killers & Honeymoon Killers & Mofungo and who knows what ever else (oops!).

**Reverb Motherfuckers to thread.**

Reverb Motherfuckers were freakin' insane. I remember a Maxwell's show they played on Easter Sunday. The guitarist was dressed up like Jesus and had a wireless rig, he wandered off stage into the crowd + restaurant. The bassist was downing bottles of beers like they were dixie cups of Kool-Aid. Some of the most beserko balls-to-the-wall rock n roll I've ever heard. Why they didn't cut a live album I don't know.

Jesu cristo, that Trouser Press Record Guide teaser ("you figure out the anagram, sport") has been haunting me for fifteen fucking years. Thanks for sorting out the (apparently) obvious.

xp Reverb Mofos: fabulous live band, yes. Thanks for the clip!

Mofungo were fabulous live and on record ("Messenger Dogs" anyway -- that thing's a total lost classic in my book, esp. their cover of "Deportee," which I consider the best W. Guthrie or ever or top 3 anyway).

Who should we talk about next, Purple Geezus?

I was at a Scottish cultural event in NYC mere months ago and saw Fritz Van Orden himself meandering through the audience with saxophone in tow.

They were a-ma-zing.

He's not M.I.A. I talked to him on the phone about two months ago.

I suddenly notice that there are two, completely impossible to search for unless you somehow decide to look for "ratatratr", videos on youtube.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z1IECx8C7wA&;feature=related

(find the other under related videos)

The video is dark and blurry, which does kind of work in this case.

On top of that, there's a rough mix of a song I don't know on their myspace page. Given how much they've dropped off the face of the earth, I'm grateful for everything.

"we were white kids from the sticks"

"they were rich privileged kids from CT"

you say tomato...

i mean, thurston was from bethel. which is pretty much as stick-y as where i grew up next door in brookfield. and i don't think he was that rich growing up. you basically grew up in bethel or brookfield hanging out in the woods and waiting for the day when you would be old enough to do drugs and drink.

"never felt we had anything in common with live skull(shudder}"

it's too bad! i might have liked your band more. it's funny, i did really like the song big rock joke doll even though i thought it was kinda smarmy and i actually thought rat at rat r were MORE pretentious tha sonic youth or swans or anyone else back then. just a bad attitude, i guess. great look though. and a great album cover for that first album.

i love this thread.

Even more intriguing, there's a photo on Sonda's Myspace page captioned "Rat At Rat R Seaside Lounge Recording Studio NY Aug 24 2007." Hmmmm. Ah, I see:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=390061449

They have a nice clean (from vinyl but improved) version of the first album available via their facebook page. Have only listened to the streaming samples, but it sounds good (i.e. better than my vinyl rip) at first listen. This album is so underrated.

Ok, actually shelled out for the mp3s and yeah, pretty worthwhile sonic improvement (and I've heard it on vinyl). Trio of songs in the middle never seems to get mentioned in the press, but may be the strongest no wavey run on record: Assasin, Asshole, Rape. How lovely. Maybe Swans can challenge that, but definitely not Sonic Youth, and Dustdevils always had the filler...

First album finally on CD, remastered. Village Voice piece...
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2012/11/oral_histor_rat_at_rat_r.php?page=2

Man, this band

proobably says it somewhere in the thread but bassist Sonde Anderson was Branca's cousin so he would be likely to have an opinion on them. I'm not very familiar with the band other than knowing they came out of the same NY scene as Sonic Youth, Live Skull etc.

I don’t hear Crimson or Yes but I do hear Live Skull